Selina woke up the next morning after being gently shaken awake. She sat up slowly and took a deep breath. "What's going on?" She asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven in the morning," Elijah said.

"Oh, okay," Selina lay back down on her pillow. "Wake me up when it's noon." She paused and turned back to him with a grin. "Unless you're feeling a little...amorous, in which case I suddenly feel very awake."

Elijah laughed and rubbed her shoulders a little. "Actually, and you might hate me for this, I woke you up to tell you that I'm going to go check on Lucy. I know I should have just let you sleep, but I didn't want you to wake up by yourself and think I'd left you."

Selina leaned against him with her head on his shoulder. "Well, aren't you sweet?" She said, looking up at him.

He smiled. "I try my best." He got out of bed and put the covers over her. "Are you going to be able to get back to sleep, or have I wrecked it for you?"

"Oh, no," Selina shook her head and snuggled under her blankets. "I fall asleep very easily. Especially if I've been worked very hard the night before."

He smirked, heading for the door, and when he put his hand on the knob, she looked at him again, laying on her side and balancing on one elbow. "If Lucy wants a cookie for breakfast, she can have one now, but just one."

He nodded. "All right, I'll remember that." He headed out of their room and into Lucy's room. She was wide awake, sitting up, and as he walked in, eyeing him intently. When he reached her crib she held out her arms and he picked her up.

"Tookie!" She said brightly. He laughed. "Your mother thought you'd want one of those." They went into the kitchen and he gave her one. She took it and took a bite. Some crumbs and spit dribbled down her chin. Elijah wiped her off and took her to her room to get her dressed and then they went to see Selina.

"It's sad that that she has more energy than I do," Selina said, taking Lucy and giving her a kiss.

"Well, she is significantly younger than you," Elijah pointed out. "That could have something to do with it."

Selina socked him in the arm. "And I'm significantly younger than you. That doesn't have anything to do with anything."

"All right, all right, I'm sorry." Elijah put up his hands and slowly backed toward the door. "So what are you going to do today?" He asked. "What can you do?"

"What do you mean, 'what can I do'?" Selina asked.

"Well, you do remember that you and Lucy aren't just here for a casual visit," Elijah said. "You told me that Aleksandr said someone was out to kill you."

"Ah, yes," Selina nodded. "Myna. Stupid woman. Yeah, she's up to something, but I can't afford to hide from her, can I? Even if that is the smarter idea."

"She's killed lots of hybrids and you aren't scared of her?" Elijah asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "She's just a vampire. And younger than me. The only extra arroow she's got in her knowledge quiver is that she and Vanessa were friends, so she's probably picked up some extra things in terms of know-how, but I think otherwise, she's pretty unremarkable. It's like you being scared of me just because Nicky gave me something a little extra. Would you be?"

Elijah shook his head. "Of course not. But if you need to go out today, please do me a favor and watch out for yourself. And Lucy."

Selina nodded. "I will. And I do have to go out. I need to tell Damon what's going on with Myna in case she finds out about Sam and gets any ideas in her head. And there are some other things that need talking about as well. So I'll take Lucy with me when I go to Damon's and you can have the day to yourself. I'm sure you can think of something to do until tonight."

He grinned. "Or, I can spend the day thinking of the something that we are going to do tonight..."

She smiled back. "Whatever floats your boat. I'll call you when I get to Damon's to let you know that I got there okay."

He nodded and kissed her hand. "Thank you," he said. "I know you find that irritating, it's just that..."

"No," she shook her head. "It's nice to know that somebody cares." They all stood in silence for a moment, then Selina cleared her throat. "I think I'll put some cookies in a bag and bring them with us," she said. "It'll be a nice treat."

Damon opened the front door and started a little when he saw Selina and Lucy on the other side. He was so surprised that he almost backed into Sam, who was standing right behind him and it was only Sam's screech of surprise that stopped him from being squished against a wall. "Sorry about that, Sammy," Damon said, picking him up. "It's just that Mommy and Lucy came to visit and Daddy wasn't expecting them."

"Yeah, I know," Selina said. "And I'm sorry about that. I should have called first. Mama would be disappointed. Are we interrupting something? Were you going out with Wendy?"

"Oh, no," Damon shook his head. "It's not that. Come in."

They came in and sat down on the sofa, doing their usual switch with Sam and Lucy so that Lucy was in Damon's lap and Sam was in Selina's.

"Now, what did you need to talk to me about?" Damon asked. "It's nothing serious, is it?"

Selina nodded. "Actually, it kind of is. I've moved into Elijah's now, and..."

"Oh," Damon's eyebrow went up. "So Klaus finally gave you the divorce, huh?"

Selina scoffed and took off her jean jacket, putting it on the sofa beside her. "Of course he didn't. It'll be doomsday before that happens. I've decided to take action and get the divorce myself. But that actually isn't why I'm living with Elijah now. The truth is, I'm in hiding from some crazy vampire who's Vanessa's second-in-command, and whose current goal is to destroy all werewolves and hybrids, especially Nicky and family. So all of us have separated in the hopes that she'll be less likely to kill us that way."

"Has she tried to kill you before?" Damon asked. "This woman, I mean? Is that how you know she's trouble?"

"Well, it was her fault that I went crazy and bit Lucy," Selina said. "She knew she wouldn't be able to kill Nicky's family directly, so she tried to have me do it as an inside job. Luckily that failed."

"Does Enid know?" Damon asked. "You should tell her if she doesn't."

Selina ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh, I'm sure she knows," she said. "She keeps an eye on all activity connected to her twin sister, 'cause she knows that just because Vanessa is dead, that doesn't mean she's stopped causing trouble."

"Great," Damon said dryly. "She's the bitch that wouldn't die. And here I thought your mother-law did us all a favor when she skinned her alive, or turned her inside out, or whatever."

"Bitch!" Sam said brightly, showing all his teeth.

"Sammy, we don't talk like that," Selina said. She gave Damon a look. "And you watch what you say around him. Little kids are like sponges."

"Oh, please," Damon said. "It's just a word. And like you'd describe Vanessa any other way."

"That's not the point," Selina said. "The point is that he's too young to be swearing. And you probably let him do a whole bunch of other stuff he's too young for too."

Damon shook his head. "No, I don't. You act like I sit down in front of the TV with him and all we do is watch porn or something. Well, we don't, all right? It's all football and cartoons and three hours of educational programming. I don't even have a drink afterward, either. I run off my boredom with a game of tag in the yard, and when he goes down for his nap, that's when I turn on all the 'inappropriate' stuff."

"Really?" Selina asked. "That surprises me."

"Yeah," Damon said huffily. "Really. You make it seem like im out to corrupt him or something."

"Well, I'm sorry," Selina said. "But you aren't exactly sugarcoating things, are you?"

"What's the point of that?" Damon asked. "Nothing is sugar-coated in the real world. Bad things happen to people every day. I think it would be best if he knew about it from the beginning, rather than living in some fantasy world of unicorns and puppies."

Selina sucked in a breath. "So he's just a baby, but you want to take away his innocence so he learns how the world works way too early? He has years and years to learn that. He's too young to have heavy stuff on his shoulders. He's too young to understand any of it."

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try to explain it to him," Damon said. "Do you want him to end up like Lucy when you attacked her? She was as scared as hell. I remember the look on her face."

"And you think I don't?" Selina asked. "You don't think that haunts me every day? Because it does, all right? It does. It hurts me so bad to know that I wrecked her life that way."

"You didn't wreck anything," Damon said. "She's little and I bet she doesn't remember it anymore anyway."

"Yeah, but I do, all right? I remember what it feels like to want to hurt someone you love even though it's totally against everything you believe in. I just wish I could make myself forget it."

"But that's not going to happen. So what you have to do, instead of dwelling on that, is to move on, show Lucy that yes, there are bad things in the world, and no, you won't always be able to stop her from getting hurt no matter how much you want to, but that you will always be there to help her pick up the pieces and support her no matter what happens. I think that's best." Damon said.

Selina nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I can't control everything. I can just control how I react." She locked eyes with him."If I let my fear and my guilt taint all my interactions with her, that will make me as bad as my mother, won't it?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "And I bet you don't want Sam and Lucy to grow up like you did."

Selina shook her head. "No, not at all. I wouldn't wish my childhood on anyone." She paused. "And speaking of being as bad as my mother, the main reason why I came over here was because I wanted to talk to you about how we're going to raise Sam, although I guess you already answered my question."

"What do you mean 'how we're going to raise Sam'? Are you saying that you want to take him?"

"Oh, no!" Selina said quickly. "Of course not. I just wondered how we were going to handle it when he asks about the werewolf thing and the vampire thing. Because you know he's going to, eventually. I bet you think we should be open about that."

"Well, yeah," Damon nodded. "I think we should tell him about what we are and his heritage, but I won't encourage him to go try and become either himself."

"Really?" Selina asked. He was surprising her left and right today.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, neither you nor I chose to be vampires, did we?" he asked. "And if somebody said to you, 'I could make it so you never had to be a vampire again," wouldn't you say yes?"

"I've been there, remember?" Selina asked. "Before I became a hybrid. A werewolf bite made me human again, like it does for all vampires with inactive werewolf genes."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "So if he asks about being a vampire, we're going to tell him, 'sure, go ahead and try it out for awhile, and if you hate it, we can always change you back, no harm no foul'?"

Selina shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I'm no master of male psychology, but it seems to me like telling a guy he can't do something just makes him want to do it more. Am I wrong?"

"No," Damon rolled his eyes.

"So if we say to Sam, 'you can't be a vampire,' then he might just try to go behind our backs and get someone...say, Lucy or one of his other siblings...to turn him without us knowing about it. But if we carefully monitor his experience as a vampire...then maybe..."

"I don't think we should monitor it," Damon said. "Let him make his own mistakes. Once he spends a couple of days bloodlusting in the woods and killing bunnies, then we'll see how much fun he thinks being a vampire is."

Selina hugged Sam to her as if Damon was threatening to chew him up and spit him out. "That's horrible. You're just going to let him kill innocent people in order to prove a point?"

"Stop freaking out," Damon said. "He might not even be curious. I don't know. It's a possibility. A remote one, but still a possibility."

Suddenly, Selina felt something strange. She looked down. Sam had his little hand in her pocket and was trying to get out the cookie bag. When he finally pulled it out, he grinned. "Cookie!"

Selina looked down at the cookies. "Oh, yeah. I forgot I brought those."

Damon smirked. "Good thing you put the cookies in a bag," he said. "Otherwise, the chocolate would have melted all over the inside of your pocket."

"I've had that happen, actually," Selina said. "Mini Hershey bar. Not an experience I'd care to repeat." She watched Sam take out a cookie and drop the bag on the floor. "You want to go give the bag to your sister, Sport?" Damon asked. "That would be a nice thing to do." He handed Sam the cookie bag and gave him a gentle spank, pushing him in Lucy's direction. Sam slowly toddled toward Lucy, and when he reached her, he held the bag out. Lucy reached out to take it from him, then he snatched it out of her reach and ran away, giggling like crazy.

Wailing angrily, Lucy ran after him. Damon and Selina sat in silence on the sofa for a few seconds, and then Damon stood up and held his hand out ot her. "Do you think we should go and make sure they don't kill each other?" he asked. "If this is how all their interactions go, I'm dreading the future."

She took his hand and they ran to Damon's bedroom, where they found Sam trying to climb Damon's dresser and get the cookies even further out of Lucy's reach. Then, Selina watched in surprise as Lucy sped over to and on top of the dresser, snatching the bag out of Sam's grasp and pushing him off the dresser. Selina caught Sam before he hit the floor, and then looked up at Lucy, who happily sat atop the dresser, munching on the cookies and looking like the queen of the world. "Oh, my god," she whispered.

"How early did Roxie and Adrian show off their powers?" Damon asked her.

Selina shrugged. "I forget, but I know it wasn't as early as this. Maybe they just didn't feel a need to. I don't know. I really can't explain it." She sat Sam down on the bed and checked him for injuries while Damon pulled Lucy off the dresser and took her to the kitchen, where he sat her down in his lap and watched her eat.

"Are those good?" He asked her. She nodded, pulling one out of the bag and sticking it in his mouth.

"Thank you," he said, his mouth full of cookie. He swallowed and she leaned against him. "Why are you so mean to your brother?" He asked her. "You should be nice. He's not as strong as you."

Lucy held up the bag. "Tookies," she said seriously.

"Oh." He nodded. "I get it. When there are cookies at stake it's every girl or boy for themselves, huh?"

Lucy nodded. "Tookies nummy."

By the time Selina emerged from the bedroom with Sam in her arms, there was only one cookie left. Damon gently took the bag out of Lucy's hand and put it on the table where she couldn't reach it, then he handed the bag to Selina. "Lucy thought it would be nice to give Sammy the last cookie," he said.

Selina grinned and ruffled Lucy's hair. "Isn't that sweet? That's a very nice thing to do, Lucy Loo."

Lucy scowled and then buried her face in Damon's shirtfront, while Selina handed Sam the bag and he triumphantly grabbed the cookie out and ate it. Selina took the bag from him and they went into the kitchen to throw it away. "I might make a batch of these a week and send some here," she said. "I had no idea they were so popular."

"Would you do that?" Damon asked. "Then I could hide them and I might actually get one once in awhile."

Selina gave him a fake sad look. "Aww, poor baby. Don't you remember that the main rule of war is 'every man for himself'?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure if that applied since the opposition consisted of babies," Damon said. "I wasn't sure if it would be fair or not."

"Well, you've learned that if you want cookies, you have to be sneaky, or..." She opened her purse and pulled out a second bag, putting it in a drawer where Sam and Lucy couldn't reach it, giving Damon a wink. "...Or have somebody in your acquaintence with access to a really big oven and time for lots of trips to the grocery store."

Damon looked like he was about to cry. "Can I hug you?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Why not?"

He squeezed her so tight that she almost lost her breath, and when he let her go, he pulled the cookies out of the drawer, opened the bag, and breathed deeply. Then, he shut the bag and held it to his chest. "I will guard these with my life," he said.

She giggled. "You do that," she said. "I hope you enjoy them."

"Do you have to go?" Damon asked. "It sounds like you have to go."

Selina shook her head. "No, I don't. I can stay." She put Sam down and expected him to toddle away, but instead he got down on the floor and clung to her leg, refusing to let go. "I'm not going anywhere, Sammy," she said to him. "You can let me go now. Let's go and play."

He stared at her intently for a few minutes, and when he was convinced that she was telling the truth, he let go, and he and Selina went off to his bedroom to play with his trucks and Damon and Lucy stayed in the living room and read magazines to figure out what would be on television that evening.

"Now, tell me again why we're moving in here?" Tessa asked. "I know you explained before, but I didn't quite get it."

Adrian sighed and sat down on the bed. "It's like this," he said patiently. "My father and his siblings and his mom and stepdad are the first vampires ever made. But my dad's biological father, that bartender, Ronan, he's a werewolf."

"So?" Tessa asked. "What's the big deal? Everyone who comes in here is a werewolf."

"Ah-ha, but there's something...else," Adrian winced. "I'm a vampire too."

Tessa's eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm a vampire too," Adrian repeated. "And that's the whole reason why we have to move in here. Well, not specifically because I'm a vampire, but..."

"Take a deep breath, and start again," Tessa said. "This is complicated."

Adrian nodded. "Okay. My dad had a human mother and a werewolf father. His father is the new bartender downstairs, in fact. He and my grandma had an affair because her actual husband was like, evil or boring or something and that affair led to my dad, but Grandmother, of course, didn't tell the truth until after Dad's werewolf gene got activated and she had no other choice. By then, the whole family had had a run-in with Enid's sister Vanessa and because of that, were the first vampires ever made."

"So your dad is a werewolf and a vampire at the same time?" asked Tessa, looking shocked. Then recognition dawned. "Wait...I knew that. He made Vince the same thing. I remember now."

Adrian nodded. "Yeah. Roxie, me, my mom and my sister Lucy are all vampire-werewolf hybrids too. And that's why you and I have to move into the bar for a little while. Because right now, there is a vampire named Myna out and about who was a follower of Vanessa's that wants to kill every hybrid and werewolf that walks the earth. And she can't kill us if she doesn't know where we are."

"All right," Tessa nodded, looking a little shell-shocked. "I suppose that answers all of my questions...for now." She paused, then cleared her throat. "Wait, I assume Helene knew all about this?"

Adrian nodded. "Well, yeah. Our dads know each other. We grew up together."

Tessa hit Adrian in the shoulder. "The guy mentioned that! The guy who wants me to kill Helene! He said that he liked your dad for putting Alistair Fale in his place."

"Wow, and he didn't think that eternal servitude at the hands of a meglomanical vampire-werewolf hybrid was punishment enough for killing his clan leader?"

Tessa shook her head. "Apparently not."

"What else did he say?" Adrian asked. "The man, I mean? Did he mention any loopholes that could lead to Alistair being kept alive?"

Tessa shook her head. "If he did, I don't remember it." They sat down on the bed and sighed.

"I'm bored," Adrian said after a moment. "I can't just sit up here and wait to be slaughtered. That's cowardly. I want to find this woman and kill her."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Tessa asked. "You said she wants to kill everyone like you."

Adrian smirked at Tessa. "Just because she wants something, doesn't mean she's going to get it. All the other hybrids she's killed are common garden variety hybrids, not special ones, like my dad and me. In fact, I bet if I called my dad right now, he and I could make quick work of that bitch, whoever she is."

"Are you sure about that?" Tessa asked. "What if she does end up killing you? I'll be lonely, you know?"

He ran a hand over her cheek. "How could you be lonely if I died?" He asked. "We haven't even known each other that long."

Tessa nodded. "Good point. What if I said life would be harder because it would mean I'd have to deal with our siblings' drama by myself if you died?"

Adrian burst out laughing. "I will give you that one. Roxie's no picnic, even on a good day. Your brother is a saint."

"You're still going to call your Dad, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, taking out his phone. "I am. But I swear to you that everything is going to be okay. Thanks to my dad and his awesome genes, I'm damn near indestructible. And I very much doubt my father would just let me die."

Klaus' phone was on the table next to the television. It started ringing and when it wouldn't stop, Anna finally picked it up. "Hello?"

"Aunt Anna, it's Adrian. Dad's not around?"

Anna shook her head even though Adrian couldn't see it. "No, I'm afraid not. He and Stefan went out hunting. They promised to bring me leftovers. What do you need him for? You never need him."

"Well, Dad told you about why he's living with you, right?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "I heard it from your mom. Apparently, you all are in some kind of trouble."

"I don't think of it as trouble," Adrian replied. "Just a little annoyance that needs to be taken care of. And I want Dad to help me. He's always saying that he wants us to have a deep father-son bonding moment and I figure this is just as good a time as any."

"I'll let him know when he gets back," Anna said. "Until then, sit tight and try your best not to do anything rash."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. "All right, Aunt Anna. I won't. Oh, and when Dad comes to the bar to meet me, tell him to bring Grandma too."

"What?" Anna asked. "You aren't seriously suggesting your father take Mother to a bar. She'd hate it!"

"Oh, I'm sure she'd find something or someone there that would be worth the trip," Adrian said slyly. "Goodbye, Aunt Anna. And please, don't forget to tell Dad I called."

Just as she shut off the phone, Stefan and Klaus walked in the door with Elissavetta coming in behind them.

"You were on my phone!" Klaus said, snatching it off the table and glaring at Anna. "Don't touch my phone."

"Now don't be a child, Niklaus," Elissavetta said to him. "If you didn't want anyone touching your phone, you should have remembered to bring it with you." She peered at Anna. "Who called, dear?"

"Adrian," Anna said to Klaus. "He said that he wants to hunt down whoever is threatening you and kill them, but he would like your help because he wants to bond. He's living at some bar and wants you to bring Mother with you when you go to meet with him."

"Why would I want to go to a bar?" Elissavetta asked, looking horrified. "Bars are no place for women like me!"

Anna shrugged. "I know, I told Adrian that. But he was insistent. He said there was someone there you might find interesting."

"What would it hurt?" Klaus asked her. "This is a werewolf bar. You might meet someone new."

Elissavetta sighed. "I suppose I could stay for a few minutes. Adrian hasn't once lied to me or led me astray, so I trust him."

"All right," Klaus said. "Let's go."

They walked out the door and Anna looked at Stefan. "Can you believe they're taking Mother to a bar?" She asked him. He came and sat down next to her. "I wouldn't," he said. "This is the same woman who got so upset with the fact that there would only be 'vulgar flavored' cherry truffles available our wedding that she made the caterer cry and he never came back. I don't know who I feel more sorry for: everyone at the bar, or your mother."

Anna nodded. "I agree. But at least we don't have to go. Nor do we have to babysit anyone's kids..."

"...Or deal with anyone's drama," Stefan added, "romantic or otherwise. It's just you, and me and..."

Anna grinned. "Those leftovers you promised me?"

Stefan stood up and pulled her up with him, putting a finger to his lips and leading her outside to where a pretty brunette in a nighgown was chained to the side of the house. She was whimpering and in tears. "Let me go home...she whispered. "Please..."

"I brought her fresh, just for us," Stefan said. "I didn't even eat anything while Klaus and I were out." He removed the girl's nightgown and she stood naked in front of him. "What parts do you want?" He asked Anna. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"I'll take the legs and feet," Anna said. She grinned and whispered right in Stefan's ear. "I know you like a woman's torso..."

He nodded. "But you know where we have to start. Otherwise, she'll squirm." They each stuck fangs in either side of her neck and sucked on her until she was unconscious, then Stefan tore her legs from her body and handed them over to Anna, who sucked greedily until the bloodflow ebbed. Stefan took the girl's arms and sucked them nearly dry, and then he and Anna both finished up the girl's stomach, burying the remains behind the house, then showering off and heading to bed.

Adrian hung up his phone and grinned. "Is your dad coming?" Tessa asked, putting her hand on top of his.

"I hope so," Adrian said. "I would pay big money to see the look on Grandmother's face when she sees Ronan again."

"Not to mention your father," Tessa said. "Unless he's already met his father."

Adrian shook his head. "No, he hasn't. It'll be a shock for him, too." He stood up, grinning. "And I better get down there if I don't want to miss it." He grinned at her. "Do you want to come too?"

Tessa shook her head. "Nah, this is a family thing. I'll sit the first meeting out and join in the next one."

"All right," Adrian nodded. "If you're sure."

He headed downstairs and sat at the bar.

"Need another vodka?" Ronan asked him.

Adrian leaned forward. "Actually, I have a feeling that in a little bit, it'll be you who needs the vodka."

"What makes you say that?" Ronan asked.

"I invited some people here who you'll be interested to meet. Well, actually, you know one. You know one well. But you don't know the other."

"Who are they?" Ronan asked, narrowing his eyes at Adrian. "I don't like games, lad."

"My grandmother," Adrian said after a moment. "My grandmother and my father."

Ronan's eyes widened. "Lissy? Lissy's coming here?"

Adrian nodded. "I've never heard her called that before, but I think so, yes."

"Of course you've never heard her called that!" Ronan said, slapping Adrian on the back so hard that he fell off the bar stool he was sitting on and landed hard on the floor. "I only called her that."

"All right, all right," Adrian said, getting up and rubbing his backside. he'd probably bruised his tailbone. He sat at a table far away from the bar and watched the door for several minutes until finally it opened and someone new entered, making the bar lapse into silence. She looked around, sniffed as if she smelled something icky, and then gingerly sat down at a table. Adrian was trying not to laugh, but failing. Then, he slowly got up and walked to the table.

"Adrian!" Said Elissavetta when she recognized him. "How is it that you can patronize a place like this? With all these brutish, uncouth people?"

Adrian said nothing right away, but instead kept his eyes on Ronan as the latter strode out from behind the bar and put a hand on Elissavetta's shoulder. "Come now, Lissy," he said. "You never used to mind brutish, uncouth people. In fact, I believe you found us quite delightful...for a time."

Elissavetta turned around slowly. When she saw Ronan, the color drained from her face. She tried to stand up from her chair, but fell to the floor in a faint instead. Klaus got down and started to pick her up, but Ronan got to her first, locking eyes with Klaus.

"Don't worry, lad," he said, picking Elissavetta up. "I've got her."

"Who are you?" Klaus asked.

It was then that Adrian decided to clear his throat. "Dad, meet your dad. Your biological one, I mean."

Klaus didn't bother looking at Adrian while he was speaking. He kept his eyes on Ronan. "Is Adrian making that up?" He asked Ronan quietly.

"I don't believe so," Ronan said. "Enid tells me that's the case and although she has many faults, being a liar isn't one of them."

"What's going on?" Enid called.

Klaus and Ronan turned around quickly. "Is this my father?" Klaus asked her, pointing to Ronan, who still held the unconscious Elissavetta. Enid came out from behind the bar and looked at the two men, and then down at the woman Ronan held, clicking her tongue. "My, my. She didn't take that very well, did she? And here I thought I was doing you both a favor by bringing you together..." She sighed. "I suppose it was just a shock and she'll be grateful when she wakes up." She looked at Ronan. "She'll need to lie down. You can take her up to the bed in my apartment if you're tired of holding on to her."

"I don't think I ever could be," Ronan said and he, Klaus and Adrian took Elissavetta upstairs as Enid gazed sourly after them. "Well isn't that sweet?" She asked no one in particular, and set an empty table for some new customers.

By the time they got Elissavetta upstairs and splashed some water on her face, she was awake again. She looked at the faces of the three men who stood over her and grinned. "It's like looking at three versions of the same handsome man," she said. She tried to sit up and Ronan grabbed her arm to help her. "You're going to be all right?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I will. I just wasn't prepared to see you. I'm not sure you're aware of it, but by all rights you should be dead by now."

"As should you," Ronan replied. "But I was brought back by Enid because she wanted to be altruistic and reunite us, and by that I mean you and me, not me and her."

"I think she's up to something," Elissavetta said, narrowing her eyes. "What could she be up to?"

"I don't know," Ronan replied. "But don't think I've not been thinking along those same lines myself."

While his parents talked, Klaus took Adrian to a corner. "What's going on?" He asked him. "What did you tell Anna that was so important you needed to see me?" He looked at Elissavetta and Ronan. "Unless they were it."

Adrian shook his head. "They were part of it, but not all of it," he clarified. "I've decided I want to go after the vampire who's killing all the hybrids, the one who worked with Vanessa. But I'll need help. Will you help me?"

"Of course," Klaus said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. But does your mother know about this?"

Adrian shook his head. "No. Should we tell her?"

Klaus scoffed. "No, of course not. That will make her worry, and she'll try and stop us. And at the rate my hybrids are being killed, your mother's fretting is something we can't afford. After we're done, we'll send her her long letters about our heroic exploits. I've always wanted to do that, but the opportunity never came up."

"So you'll help me, but I can't say anything to Mom," Adrian said.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I think that would be best."

Adrian nodded and they walked back to the bed where Elissavetta still lay. "What were you two talking about that was so secret you couldn't share it with the rest of us?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm having trouble with someone who's killing people close to me, and Adrian and I are going to go deal with her," Klaus said.

"Well, that's nice," Elissavetta said. "This is the first time the two of you have really done anything together, isn't it?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Anything successful anyway."

"It wasn't our fault the car broke down in the snow and Mom and Pete had to come and rescue us while she was pregnant with Roxie," Adrian said. "And it gave us a good story to tell, didn't it?"

Ronan grinned. "If you're going on a quest, I think a celebration is in order. Just like we used to do in the old days before we went off to war. Of course those celebrations often lasted several days, but..."

"And I think that's because it took several days to recover from all the drinking you did," Elissavetta said. "Good soldiers should at least be able to stay on their horses and I know for a fact that that's something men can't do after several hours at a tavern."

"We don't have several days to spare," Adrian said. "I think it would be best if we left tomorrow. But we can still party tonight. And we can do it at my uncle's. Then you can meet my mom for real."

Selina sat locked in their bedroom at Elijah's and did her best to concentrate on the book she was reading. It was difficult though, because Ronan, Adrian, Klaus and Elissavetta were in the dining room making the most awful racket. It had been that way for quite some time.

Finally, she looked up when the door opened and Elijah stood on the other side, breathing hard.

"Are you done being stubborn now?" She asked. "Do you want me to come and help you?"

He slammed the door closed, strode over to her and pulled her to him. "Yes, you can help me," he said. "You can be a big help." He pulled her to him and kissed her for a bit before she pushed him away. "Stop!" she said. "How much have you had to drink tonight anyway?"

He grinned. "Not much. I can still perform, I promise."

"Oh, no," Selina shook her head. "I don't sleep with drunk men anymore. Last time I did that, nine months later, I had Sam. I don't want to repeat that experience...yet."

"You do have to be careful, don't you?" Elijah asked. "You know, most of your children happened after you got drunk, didn't they? Adrian, Roxie, Sam..."

"Yeah, so there's a pattern," Selina said. "I've learned from it. And since I don't believe you're as with it as you claim, I am going to tuck you into bed and we are going to wait and have sex in the morning. Now, you get in bed, no arguments, and I will be back with a cold cloth for your head, and some pills if you want them."

He let her leave, but when she came back, she screeched and dropped the pills and washcloth on the floor. "Oh, my god," she said. "Oh, my god." Elijah was grinning at her from the bed. And he was naked. "I can wait all night," he said. "I'm nothing if not patient. But as I recall...you aren't."

She whimpered and inched her way toward the bed, slowly unbuttoning her shirt, peeling it off and throwing it beside the bed. Then, she boosted herself up and crawled over to him, kissing him. Then, he grabbed her and set her down underneath him, kissing down her neck and then unhooking her bra and throwing it down on the floor so he had a clear shot at her breasts, which he sucked on for quite awhile before tickling her so much she couldn't breathe. Then, she undid her pants and he pulled them off and he put his hand over her panties and rubbed her a little, causing her to moan and squeak, before he stripped off her panties, kissing the inside of her thighs before he parted her placed his lips gently against her, slowly entering her with his tongue. She was writhing underneath him now. He then removed his tongue and reached inside her with his finger, gently squeezing her pulsing mound between his fingers. She screamed and bucked forward and he grabbed her with his free arm and kissed her deeply, then slowly removed his fingers from her before entering her and sending them both spinning into pleasurable nothingness that, if they were lucky, would last forever...or at least until morning.